Gladstone murder victim owed money to people

That was what Darlene McClure told the Supreme Court in Rockhampton yesterday when she was on the witness stand at the trial of Bradley David Hill and Kerryn Ann Young.

The pair were charged with murder after 27-year-old McAuliffe was found dead in his mother's Gladstone home in the early hours of October 10, 2010.

It is alleged Hill and Young arranged for a lethal dose of heroin to be delivered to Mr McAuliffe, who injected it thinking it was methamphetamine.

The court heard Ms McClure, 24, was a friend of Mr McAuliffe's, although they were not on good terms at the time of his death.

Ms McClure told the court she and Mr McAuliffe were both meth addicts, sharing speed together many times.

At the time, Mr McAuliffe was using as much as $1000 worth of the substance a day, she told the court.

He was also selling the drug.

"He owed money to a few people," she said.

"He put security cameras up around the house in case he got run in on.

"Everyone was out to get him."

Witness Ian Robinson, who is serving a sentence for producing dangerous drugs, also gave evidence Mr McAuliffe owed people money for drugs.

"He owed one of my friends money," he said.

"He was a bad user."

Ms McClure said she had a sexual relationship with Hill, who was in an "on-and-off" relationship with Young at the time.

She said Mr McAuliffe "dobbed" on her to Young and this caused the animosity between them.

She spoke to Hill the day before Mr McAuliffe's death and he told her he was going to "kill Luke" because he thought Luke and Young were having an affair, Ms McClure told the court.

"He was angry," she said.

After receiving a concerned call from a friend at 1.15am on October 10, Ms McClure said she drove to Mr McAuliffe's house where she found him lying on the floor of his bedroom with his head under a pillow.

"I didn't know what to do. I checked for a pulse and tried to wake him up."

The court heard Ms McClure found no blood or injection marks on his arms and no syringe or needle.